The launches came hours after Pyongyang demanded the United States and South Korea halt large-scale military exercises, saying such “military rashness and provocation can no longer be tolerated.” The launch was also reported by the Japan Coast Guard (JCS). South Korea’s General Staff said it issued an airstrike warning for Ulleung Island around the time of the missile launch. They were fired toward Ulleungdo, a significant change in insignia and geographic direction here, as North Korean missiles typically land in waters near their own coast or at least north of the inter-Korean border. (Or over Japan in space.) It’s unclear how close it got to the South Korean island pic.twitter.com/hEyQwZQoO2 — Colin Zwirko (@ColinZwirko) November 2, 2022 The JCS said at least one of the missiles landed 26 kilometers south of the Northern Limit Line, a disputed maritime border between the Koreas. The missile landed just 57 kilometers from the South Korean city of Sokcho, on the east coast, and 167 kilometers from Ulleung. Yonhap news agency quoted an Ulleung County official as saying that employees evacuated to a basement when the warning sounded. On Monday, the United States and South Korea launched Vigilant Storm, one of their largest combined military air exercises, with hundreds of warplanes from both sides carrying out mock attacks 24 hours a day. A day later, Pyongyang warned Washington and Seoul called the exercises a provocation that it may take “stronger follow-up measures”. In a statement, Park Yong-chon, secretary of the ruling Workers’ Party who is seen as a close confidant of leader Kim Jong-un, called the ongoing military exercises between South Korea and the US “aggressive and provocative”. North Korea has fired a record number of missiles this year and has said a recent flurry of launches was in response to allied exercises. Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report
